Lowering upper control arms -Shelby Mod

[NitrousVa]

Has anyone done the Shelby mod, relocating the upper control arms 1 inch, to there 71-73 Mustang? I did it on a 1970 Cougar and loved the results. IIRC I thought the 71-73 already had that built in to the design at the factory?

Thanks

Robert

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

my understanding is that the geometry was revised in the 71-73 and that with the wider track the mod is not beneficial.

 

[luxstang]

Yup, no need for it, afaik. Our cars have it from the factory.

 

[Totalled]

Hmm, really? First I've heard of this.

 

[NitrousVa]

Hmm, really? First I've heard of this.

I thought that was the case, but Global West and Total Control both offer revised control arms that say they include the negative camber. You can also buy the relocation templets online, so I'm a little confused. :huh:

 

[Totalled]

^ That. I purchased the global west setup, and plan on doing their UCA drop.

 

[cazsper]

my understanding is that the geometry was revised in the 71-73 and that with the wider track the mod is not beneficial.

So would doing the Shelby mod have no affect or could it make the handling worse?

 

[BenD]

you cannot perform the shelbydrop on 71-73 cars, the inner structure of these shocktowers won't allow it, plus, they have a revised geometrie of the front suspension which makes them handle better than the previous bodies

 

[droptop73]

my understanding is that the geometry was revised in the 71-73 and that with the wider track the mod is not beneficial.

So would doing the Shelby mod have no affect or could it make the handling worse?

I have heard this mod was built into our generation Mustangs. This seems to bear out from my experience with lowering my car.

The purpose behind the "Shelby / Arning" modification is to correct the camber curve on the early cars. It allowed camber gain upon compression of the front suspension (the top of the tire moving inward) which keeps the tire flatter on the road surface during hard cornering. That said, I do not think many of us would notice any benefit there may be from the mod, and yes there could be an adverse effect to the handling. The upper ball joint / control arm to spindle angle could become too severe depending on how far the car has been lowered causing premature failure.

 

[Totalled]

Read the global west stuff again. They have you drill different holes, but state it's not the same as the shelby drop.

 

[cazsper]

What doesn'take sense is that Total Control Products offer upper control arms both standard as well as with a 1 inch drop.

 

[marks73]

Being that there were no pictures so far and: :worthlesswithoutpics: I happen to be in the midst of installing my front end I thought I would add some pics to this post that to me seem pretty self explanitory

 

[clevelandcoupe]

Mark,

Are those roller perches your using ?

If so, did you purchase them altogether or kit form ? I recently bought the kits and wondered how difficult it was.

Let me know.

Thanks, Jay

 

[droptop73]

Are those rubber pads on the spring perches?

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

Those perches with rubber pads look identical to the Open Track ones I installed in my 73 vert 3 - 4 years ago.

Hint: put a little smear of grease on the rubber pads while installing springs to prevent spring/pad friction from rolling the pad off the perch while fitting it.

 

[marks73]

Mark,

Are those roller perches your using ?

If so, did you purchase them altogether or kit form ? I recently bought the kits and wondered how difficult it was.

Let me know.

Thanks, Jay

Yes they are. They came in a box with the car. I think they are Grab-A-Trak

Those perches with rubber pads look identical to the Open Track ones I installed in my 73 vert 3 - 4 years ago.

Hint: put a little smear of grease on the rubber pads while installing springs to prevent spring/pad friction from rolling the pad off the perch while fitting it.

That's pretty good advice. With the spring compressor I made that really wasn't an issue though. I had plenty of room to maneuver the parts into place.

 

[will e]

Looks like Global West doesn't provide a 'stock' upper control arm.

 

[OMS]

Mark,

Are those roller perches your using ?

If so, did you purchase them altogether or kit form ? I recently bought the kits and wondered how difficult it was.

Let me know.

Thanks, Jay

Yes they are. They came in a box with the car. I think they are Grab-A-Trak

Those perches with rubber pads look identical to the Open Track ones I installed in my 73 vert 3 - 4 years ago.

Mark if you look at the logo on the control arm

ACP = All Classic Parts

Stock control arms and perches that i have in my suspension kit

 

[will e]

So did we decide this was something that benefits our cars? I don't want to drill holes if it isn't going to help.

I am thinking of going with TCP uppers, global west lowers, roller purches.